It’s the early 1870s, and Prussia was in the midst of rearming its military. Baron von Oppen had taken a keen interest in arming his native country and turned to his employer for the arms. Von Oppen was a retired Prussian army officer and worked for Colt. He had opened the Colt London Agency in London, circa 1870 for the purpose of selling the Colt line in England. The first half of 1873 found von Oppen ill and he requested and received from his employer permission to take a year’s worth of sick leave. He traveled to this homeland to recuperate and learned of the Prussian government’s pressing need for military arms. Always a salesman, von Oppen took this opportunity to provide Prussian authorities with samples of the Colt Single Action Army revolver, which had just passed U.S. military trials and acceptance. Two lots of 40 revolvers each were shipped to Spandau. One lot was chambered for the .45 Long Colt caliber and the second lot was chambered for the .44 (10.6 mm) German cartridge. The revolvers in .44 caliber went on to be tested by the Prussian Military School of Musketry in 1874. The .45 LC lot was refused by the Prussians as they wanted revolvers chambered in their .44 caliber German cartridge. The revolver offered here was among the 40 chambered in .45 LC. The .45 LC revolver lot was returned to the Colt London Agency where most were eventually sold. Years later the remaining fourteen unsold revolvers were returned to the Colt Hartford factory to be sold on the U.S commercial market in 1887, such as this example. Factory records for the .45 LC lot are confusing. Per noted Colt historian and author C. Kenneth Moore, “The Factory records indicate that pistols were shipped to J.P. Moore’s Sons, New York City, and do not mention Spandau nor the London Agency. J.P. Moore’s Sons were transfer agents for the Colt Company. The guns were shipped to J.P. Moore’s Sons actually for the purpose of sending them out of the country rather than for their sales room.” This revolver, no. 1415, is listed among the lot of 40 in Moore’s “Colt Single Action Army Revolvers and the London Agency” on page 64. (A copy of this book is included.) Moore continued, “Some of these revolvers have dual shipping dates in the Factory records. The second shipping date is very late in relationship to their serial numbers. These are the revolvers the London Agency could not sell and returned to the Factory” (page 77). Our subject revolver has a second shipping date, and a separate factory letter for this second factory shipping date is included. As noted in the factory letter, the revolver was shipped to J.P. Moore’s Sons of New York City on November 18, 1873. This shipment was for 40 guns. The letter confirms the .45 caliber chambering and blue finish with barrel length and stocks not listed, a common indication of 7 ½ inches and walnut respectively. The gun was later part of a two gun shipment on July 7, 1887 to Alexander McComas of Baltimore, Maryland, and in the same configuration as it had been in when it was first shipped from the factory in 1873. Ownership of the revolver is explained in a 2000 dated letter from C. Summers Hunter: “The gun was give by someone to my grandfather, Clarence Summers Hunter, who in turn gave it to my father, Clarence Summers Jr., who gave it to me, Clarence Summers Hunter III. The gun came from the Midwest, possibly Missouri where my father was born.” The barrel has the early Colt Hartford one-line address. The left side of the frame has the two-line patent dates marking followed by “U.S.” To fulfill the 80 gun shipment to Prussia, it seems likely that a frame was pulled from parts originally meant to fulfill the U.S. contract. This would have been a rushed order and complied in haste. With the exception of 80 units exported to Prussia and 21 civilian/commercial units, 1873 production of the SAA (serial no. range 31-3478) was mostly destined for the U.S. government (see “The Official Record of the Colt Single Action Army Revolver 1873-1895,” page 42). Per Colt historian Ron Graham, all SAAs in the J.P. Moore’s Sons November 18, 1873 shipment had “U.S.” stampings (see Graham’s included letter). The trigger guard bow has the caliber designation “45 CAL” on the left side. Matching full serial numbers appear on the frame, trigger guard, back strap, cylinder, and barrel. Note the barrel serial number is correctly located ahead of the cylinder pin (not under the ejector rod housing) as seen on early production SAAs. Graham noted, “The factory relocated this serial number placement to beneath the ejector rod housing probably within days after 1415 was stamped.” The revolver was examined by noted Colt historian and author Ron Graham, who recorded his observations in his accompanying handwritten letter. No. 1415 received some factory updates before being shipped out in 1887. The ejector rod housing tip and back strap toe were beveled. The beveling is featured in later production guns. The most significant improvement came with the milling of the bolt stop approaches. Early production SAA cylinders frequently would over spin when a loaded revolver was rapidly cocked. Creating proper bolt stop approaches corrected the problem on this 1873 production SAA. Graham also noted that likely “a few springs [were] also included in the mechanically upgrading.” Graham’s overall impression: "Serial number 1415 is a spectacular, early civilian production Single Action Colt. It provides a great opportunity for researchers and collectors to observe the results of early factory manufacturing and corrective procedures. And because this SA still possess nearly all of its factory finish, observations are indeed pleasurable and exciting.” Provenance: Clarence Summers Hunter and family; Property of a Gentleman

Very fine, retaining 60% bright high polish blue and 70% original casehardened finishes with a smooth brown patina on the balance. The grip is excellent with some minor handling marks, edge wear, and most of the original varnish remaining. Mechanically functions fine, although is missing half cock notch in hammer. This is an incredible opportunity to acquire one of only 40 Colt SAAs in .45 LC shipped to Prussia. Its condition and historical significance to the Colt legacy makes this SAA a true rarity. As Ron Graham proclaimed, “This is a great gun!”